Mai Liang did not expect Mu Anxiao to interject with such a statement at this moment, so she asked somewhat dazed, "What did you say? I didn't quite understand."
Mu Anxiao did not have a genuine understanding of Mai Liang. Seeing her confused expression, Mu Anxiao suspected she was hiding something.
Thus, Mu Anxiao couldn't help but become wary of her.
"I've explained it so clearly, and you still don't understand. It just goes to show..." Mu Anxiao's attitude towards Mai Liang underwent a drastic change. "You have a problem."
Mai Liang's eyes widened.
Mu Anxiao continued, "I'm now seriously suspecting you of deceiving me."
"I'm deceiving you?" Mai Liang expressed surprise. "No, Mu Anxiao, what's gotten into you? How am I deceiving you now?"
"You can't answer my questions," Mu Anxiao stated calmly.
Mai Liang gave a wry smile. "Just because of this, you've changed your attitude towards me. Mu Anxiao, you're too..." she said, releasing the hand she was holding Mu Anxiao's arm. "Your face changes too quickly."
"..." Mu Anxiao stared at Mai Liang for a few seconds, then asked, "Tell me the truth, is Gui's sister, Mu Gui's sister, human or demon."
"She really is a demon."
"Really..." Mu Anxiao repeated, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Then tell me, what makes you believe she's a demon?"
This time, Mai Liang understood Mu Anxiao's words and immediately replied without thinking, "The courtyard I went to that day was where she was. When I first entered," her gaze was firm, "there was nothing. But after a while, a black light suddenly appeared, and then I fainted. So, that's how I judged her to be a demon."
"Then why did you say you wanted to erase her memory? If she's a demon, naturally your magic..."
"I can sense that the demonic energy is very weak. This indicates that she is just a废妖 (waste demon) with demonic destiny but not much demonic power. Naturally," Mai Liang said, "I can do this."
"..." Mu Anxiao was speechless.
Seeing Mu Anxiao silent, Mai Liang added, "Now you should believe me, right?"
"Mm," Mu Anxiao nodded reluctantly.
Mai Liang smiled. "Then you can apologize to me now."
Upon hearing this, Mu Anxiao's eyes widened. She looked at Mai Liang and said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Are you not afraid of offending me by talking to me like this now?"
"..." Mai Liang chuckled.
Mu Anxiao snorted and turned to look at Feng Qishi opposite her, saying, "What do you think of this matter?"
Feng Qishi pondered for a moment, intentionally ignoring Mu Anxiao and looking at Mai Liang, saying, "So, you've only concluded that Mu Gui's sister is a demon based on that place alone."
"Yes."
"..." Feng Qishi's gaze was cold. After a moment's thought, he looked at Mu Anxiao. "What do you think?"
"I asked you what you think, and you've turned it around and asked me," Mu Anxiao said impatiently.
Feng Qishi said coldly, "Answer when I ask you. Why so much nonsense?"
"You didn't answer when I asked you either," Mu Anxiao retorted.
Feng Qishi fell silent, intentionally fixing his gaze on Mu Anxiao's face, letting her understand.
At this moment, Mu Anxiao once again perceived ruthlessness and heartlessness in Feng Qishi's eyes. And this ruthlessness and heartlessness made Mu Anxiao feel uncomfortable and uneasy.
"Can you stop looking at me like that?" she said, her gaze flickering.
Feng Qishi replied, "Speak, and I naturally won't look at you like that anymore." His attitude was extremely cold.
Mu Anxiao thought Feng Qishi was gradually returning to his former self. Who knew that after hearing Mai Liang's account, he had reverted to Shen Moyun's original attitude.
Naturally, she became displeased. "Can you speak properly?"
"Speak," Feng Qishi uttered a single word.
Mu Anxiao's body stiffened. Considering Feng Qishi's general status, she truly lost her confidence. "What do I think? I... I think it should be her." She was a bit intimidated.
Mai Liang looked at Mu Anxiao's submissive expression and frowned. "Mu Anxiao, what's wrong?"
What's wrong?
A year ago, Mu Anxiao was above Feng Qishi. But in less than a year, not only had her magic fallen far behind Feng Qishi, but her status had also fallen far behind his.
Initially, she didn't feel anything about this situation. But after Feng Qishi changed his expression several times, she understood. Indeed... people with status were different.
She knew that with her current status, she was not enough to confront Feng Qishi.
Therefore, at this moment, she could be considered to have seen reality clearly. Just as Zhang Yan had once said, it was meaningless to bring up past events. Once a person changes, it was naturally difficult to return to their original appearance.
Hence, in order to successfully enter the palace, she temporarily accepted Feng Qishi's attitude.
"I'm fine," she replied to Mai Liang.
Mai Liang looked cautiously at Mu Anxiao's uneasy expression and didn't dare to say more.
Feng Qishi said, "You said it should be her. This shows you're very uncertain."
"Of course, I'm uncertain."
"Do you think she's lying?" Feng Qishi glanced at Mai Liang.
Mai Liang's eyes widened.
Mu Anxiao glanced at Mai Liang and said, "I actually don't think she's lying, because she said..."
"Wait until we enter the palace, and you can take me to see," Feng Qishi suddenly interrupted Mu Anxiao and looked at Mai Liang.
Mai Liang also felt Feng Qishi's suddenness and her expression became a little awkward as she said, "Understood." After speaking, she turned to look at Mu Anxiao, who had her mouth slightly agape, and did not dare to speak.
After Mai Liang's reply, Mu Anxiao took a deep breath and said, "Mai Liang, you should go tell Mai Xia first. It's getting dark."
"Okay," Mai Liang agreed and looked at Feng Qishi. "..."
Feng Qishi understood Mai Liang's intention and said, "Go ahead."
Upon hearing Feng Qishi's permission, Mai Liang turned and disappeared.
After Mai Liang left, Mu Anxiao walked around the table to Feng Qishi's side. Before she could even speak, Feng Qishi turned to her and said earnestly, "Mu Anxiao, stay away from me from now on."
"What?" Mu Anxiao thought she had misheard.
"No 'what.' From now on, only I can look for you," Feng Qishi said, putting his hands on Mu Anxiao's shoulders. "When you see me, you can only bow and not talk nonsense."
"..." Mu Anxiao blinked.
"Remember," Feng Qishi patted Mu Anxiao's shoulders twice and said, "Just nod."
"You're going to protect me," Mu Anxiao guessed.
Feng Qishi withdrew his hands and said coldly, "No."
"No?" Mu Anxiao frowned. "Then what is it? Tell me." She didn't believe Feng Qishi didn't want to protect her.
Feng Qishi continued, "I just don't want you to drag me down."
"Drag me down? How can I..."
"I heard Mai Liang's story, so I naturally have to help her. And once this matter is carried out, I cannot have any interaction with you, because I don't want to lose my position as general because of you," Feng Qishi interrupted, staring intently at Mu Anxiao's face.
"..." Mu Anxiao's mind went blank; she didn't understand.
Feng Qishi continued, "So, after entering the palace, stay away from me, including those soldiers. There are some things you'll have to complete yourself."